Tag: circadian rhythm

The health benefits of deep restful sleep

On By queeenvkIn Environment, Health, Help, Inspiration, self helpLeave a comment

Sleep is linked to multiple aspects of our health because it affects different organs and hormone levels throughout the body. Deep restful sleep is also known as slow wave sleep and occurs as the third stage of non-REM sleep. The REM stage of sleep comes after this deep sleep stage. During deep sleep the brain detoxifies itself from harmful proteins that build up during the day and sorts out your recent memories. We cycle through the stages of sleep multiple times during the night. However, people who snore or have sleep apnea are less likely to reach the deeper stages of sleep as they are waking themselves up multiple times during the night.

For the adults, you want to make sure you’re having 7 – 9 hours of sleep each night. Everything is better in moderation. Teens and babies need different amounts of sleep depending on their age.

Less than 7 hours of sleep or poor quality sleep can cause:

Your blood to thin leading to an increased risk of low blood pressure and dizziness. Fewer red blood cells are made so your blood ends up being thinner than it should be.

Reduced cognitive abilities. Lack of sleep can affect you in the same way as too much alcohol. Don’t drive while sleepy, it’s as bad as drunk driving!

Poor memory recall as your recent memories aren’t effectively processed by the brain.

Difficulty in maintaining weight due to disruption of levels of hormones involved in hunger (ghrelin) and feeling full (leptin). Studies have shown that less than 5 hours sleep cause a decrease in leptin levels. This is probably because your body wants to make sure you last the fast of the night but if you have a shorter sleep then your body thinks you need less leptin to keep you feeling full. Unfortunately ghrelin then comes in and makes you feel hungry before a meal. It isn’t affected by your sleep but I have noticed that if I’m not asleep by midnight I get those hunger pains that make it difficult to get to sleep without having a snack first. In the long run it becomes harder to maintain your weight if you’re always eating a second dinner before bed (which was me back in the day when I was up late studying for uni exams).

Lack of deep restful sleep to clear the build up of toxic proteins in the brain that cause Alzheimer’s. Current research indicates that Alzheimer’s might be caused due to build up of tau and amyloid-beta proteins in the brain that are created during the daytime. These proteins are cleared from the brain during deep sleep so it’s very important to deal with insomnia if you can.

Life span can be affected by poor quality sleep. Studies have shown that shift workers may have a decreased life span. Disruption to sleep patterns can cause insomnia as our circadian rhythm is a daily cycle consisting of different hormones released during certain times of the day.

Too much sleep can lead to:

Thicker blood which leads to increased risk of stroke and high blood pressure. More sleep doesn’t necessarily make you feel more refreshed. It can leave you feeling more drowsy if you sleep longer than around 9 hours.

Tricks to beat insomnia:

I know everyone says this one but it’s absolutely true: AVOID CAFFEINE. Caffeine has a lasting effect in the body so limit your intake to the morning and no more than one cup of coffee per day. Black tea contains less caffeine but it’s still there so limit cups of tea or make them weaker.

Blue light filter: Exposure to blue light suppresses your body’s natural melatonin levels. Melatonin is the hormone that increases in your body during the evening, telling your body that it’s time to go to sleep and recharge. The release of melatonin helps to regulate your body’s circadian rhythm and sleep cycles. Blue light is emitted from your TV, computer and smartphone screens. Use the blue light filter function on your smart phone after the sun goes down. You can set them to turn on and off at your chosen times. Personally, my smartphone’s blue light filter is set to switch on at 9 pm and off at 6 am. If your TV, computer or laptop doesnt have a blue light filter function you can purchase blue light filter glasses that look just like regular reading glasses. Search for them online. There are specialty online stores that focus on these light filtering glasses.

Meditations: Yoga nidra for sleep and mindfulness meditation. These types of meditation are like a brain training exercise to keep your thoughts on the present moment. Insomnia can sometimes be caused by us dwelling on the past or worrying about the future. When we’re in the present moment we’re free to control our thoughts into something more productive. Specifically with yoga nidra mediation you will focus on each part of your body individually, making sure it is totally relaxed and ready for sleep. You willl often find that you’re only a quarter of the way through before you fall asleep, it’s surprisingly effective! Give it a go, there are guided meditation tracks online or in my favourite free meditation app Insight Timer.

Supplements: There are some supplements you can purchase from your pharmacy off the shelf. I like velarian root supplements. I’ve also tried melatonin with some success. Personally I haven’t experienced any side effects of using these but ask your doctor for more advice on these supplements and if they’re right for you.

Thank you so much for joining me today. Visit my Youtube channel, QueeenVK, for more Full Cup Wellness.

Keep your cup full!

Circadian Rhythms and their dance with mood disorders

On By queeenvkIn Health, HelpLeave a comment

How good are you at keeping to a sleep schedule? How important is sleep to you, personally? It might be surprising to know that sleep is far more important for your health than you realise. It’s all down to the circadian rhythms in your body.

Circadian rhythms are involved in many aspects of behaviour and physical health. This includes regulating body temperature, the release of specific hormones, concentration, mood, eating and sleeping. These features are involved in a 24 hour cycle. A disruption in this rhythm has been linked with health problems such as heart disease, obesity, diabetes, some types of cancer, depression and bipolar disorder. 

Night shift workers are at an especially high risk for these issues due to the regular disruption of their circadian rhythm.  This is why working night shift is linked to a shorter life span and an increase in the risk of cardiovascular disease. 

Fun fact: A chronotype is the technical term for a “night owl” or an “early bird”. If you’re more active, and your brain is more awake, during the morning you would fit into the chronotype of early bird like me! 

A team of researchers has recently had a look at whether there is a genetic link between circadian rhythms (rest-activity cycles) and mood disorders such as bipolar disorder. They did this by identifying the sections of the human genome that are linked with circadian cycling. Two sections were identified and it turns out that one of these sections interacts with a gene for bipolar disorder. “Genome-Wide Association Study of Circadian Rhythmicity in 71,500 UK Biobank Participants and Polygenic Association with Mood Instability”

A disruption in the rhythm has been linked with health problems such as heart disease, obesity, diabetes, some types of cancer, depression and bipolar disorder.

However, the team says it found “little evidence of genetic correlation between rest-activity cycles and psychiatric phenotypes… This is surprising given the literature on circadian rhythmicity and mood disorders,” the authors point out.

Instead, the results showed an association between low levels of rest-activity and a higher risk for mood disorders, including mood instability, depression and neuroticism. “Mood instability is a common symptom across several psychiatric disorders and, as such, may be a more useful phenotype than categorical diagnoses for understanding underlying biology,” they point out.  Phenotype = the physical symptoms.

These results will assist further research on the relationships between circadian function and psychiatric disorders. “Circadian rhythm disruption is a core feature of mood disorders and the genetic variants identified in this study may be involved in the pathophysiology of mood disorders …  Several of the genetic variants identified are located within or close to genes which may have a role in the pathophysiology of mood disorders … The possibility of a direct link between genetic loading for circadian disruption and the experience of dysregulated or unstable mood is therefore of considerable interest and merits further investigation.”